Stone Maidens

Content Warning: This section of the novel contains depictions of violence and gore. It also contains sensationalized and inaccurate depictions of Indigenous people in Papua New Guinea.

Sheriff McFaron drives to the spot where Joey believes he saw a stranger with Julie Heath’s body to personally investigate. He finds tire marks consistent with Joey’s description of an old truck on the road, and what appears to be blood spatter nearby. Sheriff McFaron calls the county coroner, “Doc” Henegar, and asks him to confirm the sighting and take a sample. Sheriff McFaron urges Henegar to keep the matter private, not wanting to upset the Heath family unnecessarily. When he arrives, Henegar confirms the substance is blood, and collects samples for DNA and blood-type testing. Henegar immediately assumes Julie Heath is dead and attempts to confirm the blood is hers through family testing. Sheriff McFaron insists that Heath could still be alive and again urges Henegar not to discuss the findings or his theories with anyone.

Sheriff McFaron drives to the Heath house and assures Julie’s father that the police are doing everything they can to bring Julie home. He drives the blood sample to the state processing center so it can be tested immediately.